Talking about Donald Trump’s future, people almost always focus on whether he will run for the White House race in 2024. That’s the wrong inquiry. The right question to ask is just how much threat, legally and financially, Mr. Trump is in over the next few years. And the answer is ‘a lot of.’
Chris Cillizza, CNN’s Editor-at-large, was recalled of that point on Thursday while reading Joan Biskupic’s terrific piece about the continuing delay at the Supreme Court over whether Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance can get access to Donald Trump’s tax returns and financial records. Mr. Trump’s lawyers’ team continues to fight the release of those records, with a brief likely to be filed in March asking the Court to hear verbal arguments on the appeal.
Donald Trump still faces an absolute legion of legal complications whether he prevails in this particular case or not. Among them included are
- The New York attorney general’s office is examining how the Donald Trump organization valued its assets.
- A fraud lawsuit filed by Mary Trump, Mr. Trump’s niece.
- Defamation lawsuits from Summer Zervos and E. Jean Carroll.
- Two inquiries into Trump’s efforts to pressure Georgia elected officials to reverse the state’s election outcomes.
- A probable charge of incitement by the DC attorney general for Donald Trump’s role in the January 6 Capitol riot.
All of those various legal entanglements will cost a whole lot of money, even if they all wind up going in Trump’s favor. Oddly for a billionaire, Mr. Trump is not in great financial shape at the moment, and there are more pending problems on that front looming on the horizon.
Revenue Produced by Trump’s Businesses
According to financial disclosure documents delivered in the hours after Donald Trump left the White House in January, the ex-President’s eponymous company took a significant revenue hit over 2020.
Mr. Trump’s businesses shaped overall 40% less revenue in 2020 versus 2019. He made 30 million dollars less at his Miami’s Doral property as compared to 2019. Donald Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C. and the ex-President’s Turnberry property in Scotland were down above 60 percent year-over-year.
These revenue setbacks came even before Mr. Trump’s actions during the January 6 attacks. That was a moment that led to his second impeachment trial by the lower House and brought criticism down on him from across the business and political worlds.
Consider the Financial Situation of Donald Trump
Moreover, the money situation of Donald Trump was already not good. Think about what we know about Trump’s financial position via The New York Times writing on his tax returns as the Times’ David Leonhardt remarked before the November 3 election.
Donald Trump appears to be responsible for loans summed up 421 million dollars, mostly coming due within 4-years. Should Donald Trump win the White House race, his lenders could be placed in the unprecedented situation of weighing whether to foreclose on him. Whether he wins or loses the reelection, he will probably need to discover new ways to use his brand and fame among millions of Americans to make money.
Mr. Trump lost the reelection in 2020. This means that any protections or concessions that financial institutions might be willing to extend to Trump no longer exist. Moreover, out of the White House and with a brand severely damaged by his movements in the White House (ending his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot), Trump’s earning power, mainly from new revenue streams, seems limited.
If the past is the preamble, Mr. Trump’s approach to increasing financial and legal problems will sue and make his way out.
That, from The New York Times about a Chicago skyscraper built by Mr. Trump that led to him suffering 287 million dollars in unpaid debt by 2010, explains that point as below.
Donald Trump regularly bragged about his prowess
When the project faced problems, he tried to withdraw from his huge debts. For many businesses or individuals, that would have been a recipe for ruin. But tax-return data, other records, and interviews show that rather than opposing with a notoriously litigious and headline-seeking client, lenders decreased Trump’s financial slack precisely what he looks as if to have been counting on.
Mr. Trump has regularly bragged about his competence. Donald Trump asked of himself on the 2016 campaign trail that anyone knows more about litigation than Donald Trump? And exclaimed he is like a Ph.D. in litigation.
In 2016, Trump said CBS’ Norah O’Donnell that he is the king of debt and is excellent with debt. Nobody knows debt better than him. Trump has made a fortune by using debt, and if things do not work out, he renegotiates the debt. Moreover, He meant that it is a smart thing, not a stupid one.
The factual question about Mr. Trump’s future is whether he can make it unscathed to the next general election in 2024. And indeed, that is a very open question right here and now.
